- In Mexico there is an average of 2.4 doctors for every thousand inhabitants.
- The most recent National Survey of Occupation and Employment states that there are 305,418 doctors in Mexico.
- Income is usually higher for doctors who work in companies compared to those from public institutions.
In order to care for patients, a vocation for service and arduous preparation are needed. It is a fundamental and necessary profession in any society. At the same time, fair and dignified payment must also be offered to doctors for their valuable work. But while in some countries it is fulfilled, the salary of a doctor in Mexico is an issue that generates strong controversies.
The profession that requires more years of preparation
To begin with, it is necessary to remember the long road that must be traveled. It all starts from the moment you enter university. The Medicine career is one of the most requested by young people, although the places are insufficient for the high demand.
From the above, every year there are thousands of people who are rejected in public institutions. Although there is also the private sector, the main drawback is that not everyone has the resources to pay the tuition.
Once in the Faculty of Medicine, it is necessary to pass between four and five years in the classroom to learn the theoretical part. Then follows a year of internship in a hospital and another of social service to put into practice everything learned.
All of the above represents the backbone of all general practitioners. Although if they want to be specialists then they must pass the National Exam for Applicants to Medical Residencies (ENARM) and devote more years to their training.
After so many years, the least that health professionals expect is to receive an economic payment proportional to their effort. Although in some cases it is fulfilled, there are also others in which the salary of a doctor in Mexico is below expectations.
To obtain a concrete answer about the payment received by doctors, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) published a study in 2021. According to the level of education, people employed as doctors and who have a bachelor’s degree receive an average monthly salary of 17,422 pesos. On the other hand, those who have a master’s degree are 21,041 pesos and those who have a doctorate are 26,695 pesos.
The work also mentions that there are differences if the workplace is considered. For those who work in companies, their monthly income is 20,263 pesos. While those who work in health institutions are 18,675 pesos and those who provide medical services informally are 14,114 pesos.
Other data on health professionals in Mexico
The research also highlights that according to the results of the National Occupation and Employment Survey (ENOE), corresponding to the second quarter of 2021, Mexico has 305,418 doctors. Of them, 54% are men and 46% women. The predominant age range is 25 to 44 years in both sexes.
On the other hand, the number of people employed as doctors per thousand inhabitants in the country is 2.4. The value is higher than the average of two doctors per thousand people in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, although lower than the average value of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) which is 3.5.
Although it is an official source, the information on the average salary of a doctor in Mexico shows differences with respect to other investigations. In 2020, the Belisario Domínguez Institute of the Senate of the Republic carried out another study.
What he got is that Doctors in Mexico earn an average of $16,146 per month. The figure represents almost a third of the average salary for this profession in countries such as Brazil and Spain. While the nursing staff, meanwhile, earn an average of $9,909 per month. This is less than half of what nurses earn in Chile or Italy.